Preh acquires European assembly line design firm

Automotive assembly line designer Preh said it has agreed to acquire IMA Automation Amberg from Switzerland’s Feintool International Holding AG.

IMA Automation develops assembly lines for Tier 1 suppliers. Preh is acquiring IMA Automation to enhance its Preh Innovative Automation division, which serves major automakers such as Ford, General Motors and Audi. The merged divisions will eventually become Preh IMA Automation, Preh said in a statement this week.

The takeover is pending antitrust approval from European regulators. If approved, Preh will pay about $27 million for IMA Automation’s shares and property.

Preh, a unit of supplier Joyson Electronics of Ningbo, China, will retain about 240 IMA employees at the plant in Amberg, Germany. Preh spokesman Barrett Kalellis said there will be no major changes to the way the IMA facility functions after the acquisition.

Preh said it employs about 3,430 people worldwide and generated total revenue of about $707 million in 2013.